This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
Another tweak was added to the ranks, namely the quality of opposition faced by each pitcher. With a month of games in the books, we can begin to formulate refined opinions with respect to each team's offense versus righty and lefty pitching. We're also at the point in-season skill changes are captured by rest-of-season expectations.
Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | at CIN, vs. HOU | |
2 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. TB | The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable |
3 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at MIL, vs. TB | Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws |
4 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at TOR | |
5 | Justin Verlander | DET | at ARI, at LAA | |
6 | Jose Quintana | CWS | vs. SD | Back on track after slow start |
7 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. SD | |
8 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. MIN | Tentative, on DL with sore back |
9 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. KC | |
10 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. CLE, vs. SEA | |
11 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. TB | |
12 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | vs. KC | |
13 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at TOR | |
14 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at OAK, |
Another tweak was added to the ranks, namely the quality of opposition faced by each pitcher. With a month of games in the books, we can begin to formulate refined opinions with respect to each team's offense versus righty and lefty pitching. We're also at the point in-season skill changes are captured by rest-of-season expectations.
Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | at CIN, vs. HOU | |
2 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. TB | The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable |
3 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at MIL, vs. TB | Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws |
4 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at TOR | |
5 | Justin Verlander | DET | at ARI, at LAA | |
6 | Jose Quintana | CWS | vs. SD | Back on track after slow start |
7 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. SD | |
8 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. MIN | Tentative, on DL with sore back |
9 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. KC | |
10 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. CLE, vs. SEA | |
11 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. TB | |
12 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | vs. KC | |
13 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at TOR | |
14 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at OAK, vs. DET | Protected by a couple of great pitching venues |
15 | Danny Duffy | KC | vs. BAL | |
16 | Marco Estrada | TOR | vs. SEA | |
17 | Michael Fulmer | DET | at LAA | |
18 | Nathan Karns | KC | at TB, vs. BAL | Helps to be facing O's in The K |
19 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. ATL, at NYY | |
20 | Michael Pineda | NYY | vs. HOU | Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes |
21 | Matt Andriese | TB | vs. KC, at BOS | Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet |
22 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at NYY | Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts |
23 | Jason Hammel | KC | at TB | |
24 | Sean Manaea | OAK | vs. LAA | |
25 | Jason Vargas | KC | at TB | |
26 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. HOU | |
27 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | vs. LAA | |
28 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | vs. DET | Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue |
29 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at WAS | Great test for the emerging ace |
30 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | at PHI, at TOR | Huge park downgrades |
31 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | vs. HOU | |
32 | A.J. Griffin | TEX | at SD, vs. OAK | |
33 | Ervin Santana | MIN | at CLE | Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way |
34 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | vs. MIN | |
35 | Joe Biagini | TOR | vs. SEA | Filling in for Latos, may not make this start |
36 | Derek Holland | CWS | vs. MIN | |
37 | JC Ramirez | LAA | vs. DET | Figuring it out as a starter |
38 | Joe Musgrove | HOU | vs. ATL | Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer |
39 | Nick Martinez | TEX | at SD, vs. OAK | |
40 | Lance McCullers | HOU | at NYY | High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar |
41 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | vs. MIN | |
42 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at MIL | High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton |
43 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | at PHI | |
44 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | at OAK | |
45 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at LAA | |
46 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at KC | |
47 | Kendall Graveman | OAK | vs. LAA | |
48 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. MIN | |
49 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | at TEX | |
50 | CC Sabathia | NYY | at CIN | |
51 | Alex Meyer | LAA | at OAK, vs. DET | |
52 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. SD | |
53 | Chris Young | KC | at TB, vs. BAL | |
54 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | vs. CLE | |
55 | Dylan Covey | CWS | vs. SD | |
56 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | at TOR | |
57 | Daniel Norris | DET | at LAA | |
58 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at CLE | |
59 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | vs. WAS, at KC | |
60 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. KC, at BOS | |
61 | Mike Pelfrey | CWS | vs. MIN, vs. SD | |
62 | Phil Hughes | MIN | at CWS | |
63 | Hector Santiago | MIN | at CWS, at CLE | |
64 | Kyle Kendrick | BOS | at MIL | |
65 | Chase De Jong | SEA | at TOR | |
66 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at TEX | |
67 | Mike Fiers | HOU | at NYY | |
68 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | vs. WAS, at KC | |
69 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | vs. OAK | |
70 | Nick Tepesch | MIN | at CWS | |
71 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | at TOR | |
72 | Wade Miley | BAL | at WAS | |
73 | Casey Lawrence | TB | vs. CLE, vs. SEA | |
74 | Jesse Hahn | OAK | at TEX | |
75 | Christian Bergman | SEA | at TOR | |
76 | Matt Boyd | DET | at ARI | |
77 | Alex Cobb | TB | at BOS |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rank | Pitcher | TEAM | Opponent(s) | Comments |
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | at BAL, vs. PHI | |
2 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. SF, at MIL | |
3 | Carlos Martinez | STL | at MIA, vs. CHC | |
4 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | at NYM, vs. CIN | Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 |
5 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. BAL | |
6 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | at COL, at STL | Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis |
7 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | at COL | Lowest he'll be all season |
8 | Jon Lester | CHC | at STL | Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings |
9 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at LAD, at ARI | |
10 | Robbie Ray | ARI | vs. DET, vs. PIT | Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games |
11 | Johnny Cueto | SF | vs. CIN | |
12 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. PHI | |
13 | Matt Moore | SF | at NYM, vs. CIN | Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups |
14 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. PIT | |
15 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at MIA | |
16 | Adam Conley | MIA | vs. STL, vs. ATL | Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home |
17 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. PIT | |
18 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | vs. SEA | |
19 | Julio Urias | LAD | vs. PIT | |
20 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | at BAL, vs. PHI | |
21 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. PIT | |
22 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at LAD, at ARI | Better at home but should hold his own on the road |
23 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at MIA | Still inconsistent |
24 | Tyler Anderson | COL | vs. LAD | |
25 | Lance Lynn | STL | at MIA | |
26 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | at HOU | |
27 | Zach Davies | MIL | vs. NYM | |
28 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | at MIA | |
29 | Dan Straily | MIA | vs. STL | |
30 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at LAD | |
31 | Adam Wainwright | STL | at MIA | |
32 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at ARI | Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke |
33 | Mike Leake | STL | vs. CHC | |
34 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. SF | |
35 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | vs. PIT | |
36 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. CHC | |
37 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. ATL | |
38 | Zach Eflin | PHI | vs. SEA | |
39 | Ty Blach | SF | vs. CIN | |
40 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | vs. LAD | |
41 | Bartolo Colon | ATL | at HOU | |
42 | Trevor Cahill | SD | at CWS | |
43 | Matt Harvey | NYM | at MIL | |
44 | Tom Koehler | MIA | vs. STL | |
45 | Odrisamer Despaigne | MIA | vs. ATL | |
46 | Amir Garrett | CIN | at SF | |
47 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. TEX, at CWS | |
48 | Scott Feldman | CIN | at SF | |
49 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | at WAS | |
50 | Rich Hill | LAD | at COL | |
51 | Matt Cain | SF | at NYM | Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip? |
52 | Tim Adleman | CIN | vs. NYY | |
53 | Robert Gsellman | NYM | at MIL | |
54 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | vs. CHC, vs. LAD | |
55 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at WAS | |
56 | Bronson Arroyo | CIN | at SF | |
57 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. PIT | |
58 | Rookie Davis | CIN | vs. NYY, at SF | |
59 | Matt Garza | MIL | vs. NYM | |
60 | Brett Anderson | CHC | at STL | |
61 | Chase Anderson | MIL | vs. BOS | |
62 | Jered Weaver | SD | vs. TEX, at CWS | |
63 | Wily Peralta | MIL | vs. BOS, vs. NYM | |
64 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. DET | |
65 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | at COL | |
66 | Kyle Freeland | COL | vs. CHC, vs. LAD | |
67 | Rafael Montero | NYM | vs. SF | |
68 | German Marquez | COL | vs. CHC | |
69 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | vs. BOS | |
70 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | at WAS | |
71 | Tyler Glasnow | PIT | at ARI | |
72 | John Lackey | CHC | at COL | |
73 | Clayton Richard | SD | at TEX | |
74 | Jacob Turner | WAS | vs. BAL | |
75 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | at TEX | |
76 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | at COL | |
777 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | at COL |
MLB
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | at BAL, vs. PHI | |
2 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. SF, at MIL | |
3 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | at CIN, vs. HOU | |
4 | Carlos Martinez | STL | at MIA, vs. CHC | |
5 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | at NYM, vs. CIN | Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 |
6 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. TB | The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable |
7 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at MIL, vs. TB | Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws |
8 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. BAL | |
9 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at TOR | |
10 | Justin Verlander | DET | at ARI, at LAA | |
11 | Jose Quintana | CWS | vs. SD | Back on track after slow start |
12 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. SD | |
13 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | at COL, at STL | Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis |
14 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. MIN | Tentative, on DL with sore back |
15 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. KC | |
16 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | at COL | Lowest he'll be all season |
17 | Jon Lester | CHC | at STL | Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings |
18 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at LAD, at ARI | |
19 | Robbie Ray | ARI | vs. DET, vs. PIT | Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games |
20 | Johnny Cueto | SF | vs. CIN | |
21 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. CLE, vs. SEA | |
22 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. PHI | |
23 | Matt Moore | SF | at NYM, vs. CIN | Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups |
24 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. PIT | |
25 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at MIA | |
26 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. TB | |
27 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | vs. KC | |
28 | Adam Conley | MIA | vs. STL, vs. ATL | Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home |
29 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. PIT | |
30 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | vs. SEA | |
31 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at TOR | |
32 | Julio Urias | LAD | vs. PIT | |
33 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at OAK, vs. DET | Protected by a couple of great pitching venues |
34 | Danny Duffy | KC | vs. BAL | |
35 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | at BAL, vs. PHI | |
36 | Marco Estrada | TOR | vs. SEA | |
37 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. PIT | |
38 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at LAD, at ARI | Better at home but should hold his own on the road |
39 | Michael Fulmer | DET | at LAA | |
40 | Nathan Karns | KC | at TB, vs. BAL | Helps to be facing O's in The K |
41 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. ATL, at NYY | |
42 | Michael Pineda | NYY | vs. HOU | Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes |
43 | Matt Andriese | TB | vs. KC, at BOS | Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet |
44 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at NYY | Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts |
45 | Jason Hammel | KC | at TB | |
46 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at MIA | Still inconsistent |
47 | Tyler Anderson | COL | vs. LAD | |
48 | Sean Manaea | OAK | vs. LAA | |
49 | Lance Lynn | STL | at MIA | |
50 | Jason Vargas | KC | at TB | |
51 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. HOU | |
52 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | at HOU | |
53 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | vs. LAA | |
54 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | vs. DET | Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue |
55 | Zach Davies | MIL | vs. NYM | |
56 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at WAS | Great test for the emerging ace |
57 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | at MIA | |
58 | Dan Straily | MIA | vs. STL | |
59 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at LAD | |
60 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | at PHI, at TOR | Huge park downgrades |
61 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | vs. HOU | |
62 | A.J. Griffin | TEX | at SD, vs. OAK | |
63 | Ervin Santana | MIN | at CLE | Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way |
64 | Adam Wainwright | STL | at MIA | |
65 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at ARI | Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke |
66 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | vs. MIN | |
67 | Joe Biagini | TOR | vs. SEA | Filling in for Latos, may not make this start |
68 | Mike Leake | STL | vs. CHC | |
69 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. SF | |
70 | Derek Holland | CWS | vs. MIN | |
71 | JC Ramirez | LAA | vs. DET | Figuring it out as a starter |
72 | Joe Musgrove | HOU | vs. ATL | Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer |
73 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | vs. PIT | |
74 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. CHC | |
75 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. ATL | |
76 | Nick Martinez | TEX | at SD, vs. OAK | |
77 | Lance McCullers | HOU | at NYY | High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar |
78 | Zach Eflin | PHI | vs. SEA | |
79 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | vs. MIN | |
80 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at MIL | High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton |
81 | Ty Blach | SF | vs. CIN | |
82 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | at PHI | |
83 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | at OAK | |
84 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | vs. LAD | |
85 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at LAA | |
86 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at KC | |
87 | Kendall Graveman | OAK | vs. LAA | |
88 | Bartolo Colon | ATL | at HOU | |
89 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. MIN | |
90 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | at TEX | |
91 | CC Sabathia | NYY | at CIN | |
92 | Alex Meyer | LAA | at OAK, vs. DET | |
93 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. SD | |
94 | Trevor Cahill | SD | at CWS | |
95 | Matt Harvey | NYM | at MIL | |
96 | Tom Koehler | MIA | vs. STL | |
97 | Odrisamer Despaigne | MIA | vs. ATL | |
98 | Chris Young | KC | at TB, vs. BAL | |
99 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | vs. CLE | |
100 | Amir Garrett | CIN | at SF | |
101 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. TEX, at CWS | |
102 | Scott Feldman | CIN | at SF | |
103 | Dylan Covey | CWS | vs. SD | |
104 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | at TOR | |
105 | Daniel Norris | DET | at LAA | |
106 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at CLE | |
107 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | at WAS | |
108 | Rich Hill | LAD | at COL | |
109 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | vs. WAS, at KC | |
110 | Matt Cain | SF | at NYM | Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip? |
111 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. KC, at BOS | |
112 | Tim Adleman | CIN | vs. NYY | |
113 | Robert Gsellman | NYM | at MIL | |
114 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | vs. CHC, vs. LAD | |
115 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at WAS | |
116 | Mike Pelfrey | CWS | vs. MIN, vs. SD | |
117 | Bronson Arroyo | CIN | at SF | |
118 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. PIT | |
119 | Phil Hughes | MIN | at CWS | |
120 | Rookie Davis | CIN | vs. NYY, at SF | |
121 | Matt Garza | MIL | vs. NYM | |
122 | Hector Santiago | MIN | at CWS, at CLE | |
123 | Kyle Kendrick | BOS | at MIL | |
124 | Chase De Jong | SEA | at TOR | |
125 | Brett Anderson | CHC | at STL | |
126 | Chase Anderson | MIL | vs. BOS | |
127 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at TEX | |
128 | Mike Fiers | HOU | at NYY | |
129 | Jered Weaver | SD | vs. TEX, at CWS | |
130 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | vs. WAS, at KC | |
131 | Wily Peralta | MIL | vs. BOS, vs. NYM | |
132 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | vs. OAK | |
133 | Nick Tepesch | MIN | at CWS | |
134 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. DET | |
135 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | at COL | |
136 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | at TOR | |
137 | Kyle Freeland | COL | vs. CHC, vs. LAD | |
138 | Rafael Montero | NYM | vs. SF | |
139 | German Marquez | COL | vs. CHC | |
140 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | vs. BOS | |
141 | Wade Miley | BAL | at WAS | |
142 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | at WAS | |
143 | Tyler Glasnow | PIT | at ARI | |
144 | John Lackey | CHC | at COL | |
145 | Clayton Richard | SD | at TEX | |
146 | Casey Lawrence | TB | vs. CLE, vs. SEA | |
147 | Jesse Hahn | OAK | at TEX | |
148 | Jacob Turner | WAS | vs. BAL | |
149 | Christian Bergman | SEA | at TOR | |
150 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | at TEX | |
151 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | at COL | |
152 | Matt Boyd | DET | at ARI | |
153 | Alex Cobb | TB | at BOS | |
154 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | at COL |